About the OACC
The OACC advances Ohio’s 22 community colleges through advocacy, policy, and professional development. As the member association for Ohio’s community colleges, our goal is to strengthen our collective impact on our students, workforce, and communities.
Mission:
OACC advocates for Ohio’s community colleges with strong policy leadership, empowers members to drive workforce alignment and student success, and convenes partners across education, workforce, and government to advance the vitality of Ohio’s communities.
Vision:
As the unified voice for Ohio’s community colleges, OACC will advance policies and partnerships that position the state’s community colleges as the model for access, affordability, workforce alignment, and student success.
Our Areas of Impact:
Policy and Advocacy
- Advance supportive state policy and funding frameworks that strengthen the financial sustainability and competitiveness of Ohio’s community colleges.
- Strengthen relationships with policymakers and key agencies to position OACC as a trusted advisor on higher education and workforce policy.
- Lead through research and thought leadership to shape state policy discussions and elevate the role of community colleges in driving workforce and economic development.
- Enhance visibility and statewide recognition of Ohio’s community colleges through strategic communications, brand development, and stakeholder engagement.
Student and Workforce Success
- Position community colleges as statewide leaders in lifelong learning and talent development.
- Support colleges in innovating to expand access, improve learner success, and remove barriers to completion.
- Promote multiple and stackable pathways that connect education, training, and work, ensuring flexibility for learners at every stage.
- Shape Ohio’s higher education and workforce narrative through shared language and forward-looking concepts.
Professional Development & Network Engagement
- Expand professional learning opportunities for members at all levels, including trustees, presidents, and staff, to strengthen leadership and institutional capacity.
- Build member capacity for change management and continuous improvement through targeted training, peer learning, and technical assistance.
- Facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing across the network by elevating promising and evidence-based practices among institutions.
- Strengthen engagement and collaboration with OACC’s executive officer groups to ensure alignment and shared ownership of collective goals.
Innovative Solutions
- Encourage an entrepreneurial mindset and adoption of emerging technologies.
- Build institutional capacity to adapt to AI and other technological revolutions.
- Strengthen the role of community colleges as partners in community impact and revitalization.
- Support a collaborative mindset across the sector.
History of the OACC
Since the doors of the first community college in Ohio opened, our community colleges have become an important part of the state’s higher education ecosystem.
The OACC traces its origins to the Ohio Organization of Technical Colleges (OOTC) in 1972, representing Ohio's technical college presidents. Four years later in 1976, OOTC became the Ohio Technical and Community College Association (OTCCA). Wanting representation, Ohio trustees formed the Ohio Technical and Community College Association Directory of Trustees in 1986 which became the Ohio Association of Two-Year College Trustees (OATYCT) in 1991.
By 1993, OTCCA and OATYCT decided to merge and become the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) after recognizing the value and benefit of bringing both trustees and presidents together under the same organization.
Today, the OACC serves more than 200,000 students. Ohio’s community colleges play a pivotal role in educating and training the workforce our state needs to strengthen the economy and attract new businesses.
1972
Ohio’s first organization, the Ohio Organization of Technical Colleges (OOTC) represented 16 technical college presidents whose agenda items included: funding, legislative monitoring, and promotion of technical education. Later the OOTC…
1976
… approved a constitution creating the Ohio Technical and Community College Association (OTCCA), which the OOTC later joined. Then…
1986
… the trustees from 21 of the 23 community colleges in Ohio decided to form an organization and established the Ohio Technical and Community College Association Directory of Trustees. This eventually became…
1991
… the Ohio Association of Two Year College Trustees (OATYCT). A couple of years later, the OATYCT decided to merge with…
1993
… the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) after recognizing the value and benefit of bringing both the trustees and presidents together as part of the same organization, officially establishing the OACC on May 15, 1993.
Today
The OACC is a robust organization that is fully committed to ensuring the continued prosperity and success of Ohio’s community colleges and their students.